So now we're up to
part 5, The Dream Child. I
used to collect movie posters pretty hardcore, and I remember seeing
an ad for this film that featured this wicked fetus in a bubble
balanced on Freddy's claws. When the poster came out, a stupid
looking baby carriage had replaced the evil baby art. I guess the
MPAA didn't like the idea of a horror film advertising what looked
like an abortion. It was a cool poster, and I really wanted it - but
alas, it doesn't exist. Damn. Anyway, this film is even more of a
comic book that Dream Master
was. Hell, there's even a comic book dream in this one. Visually,
it's an MTV-ized throwback to the original Nightmare
film, but with some homages to the other films before it.

Directed by Stephen Hopkins, Dream Child
jumps right in where Dream Master
ended. Alice, having survived the evil from the last film, is in her
last year of high school... happily dating Danny. Freddy, on the
other hand, is unhappily dead. But he somehow finds a way back
through the dreams of Alice's unborn son. You see... Alice doesn't
even know she's pregnant (a pregnant teenager, horror of all
horrors!). But when she has a dream of the infamous night Freddy's
mother (remember the nun from part 3?) was raped by the 1,000
maniacs, the dream, in effect, allows Freddy to come to the surface.
What he needs now is a new host... and you can probably guess which
host he chooses.

Now, Alice must protect the life of her unborn child (who has a
soul, albeit an evil and corrupt one). But can her love drive Freddy
out and save the day? I dunno. I'm jaded - you figure it out. In
this flick, Freddy looks like crap. He looks dumb - I hate Freddy in
this one. He's all flabby and old, and I don't care how much
rationalization you try to give me (he's zapped of his powers and
showing his age or whatever) he still looks stupid. The story is
okay, with a lot of "society speech" layers (pregnancy,
anorexia and abortion - more so than the others), but it kind of
works. I wouldn't say this is the worst of the series, but it sure
ain't the best.

This DVD is of the same high quality as the other films in the box
set. It has great picture and great sound. The original audio was
stereo, which is available on this disc, but there's also the new
Dolby Digital 5.1 track, and it kicks your speakers into action just
as much as the previous discs. Extras are the same as on the discs
in the set. You get the DVD-ROM stuff (like the script, the next
trivia game and web access), as well as the old production note cast
bios. The menu screens are well done as expected. It's a really fun
disc, and, coupled with the Nightmare
Encyclopedia, it becomes really packed (the trailer for
the film is on the Encyclopedia,
for example). I'm running out of things to say, so I guess it's time
to kill Freddy off. If you're up for it, read the next review for
Freddy's Dead.